"Quarter 3 figures do not include the full effect of recent content developments including the launch of Smooth UK [as a national station] in October, and the expansion of Absolute 90s. Further announcements about new content, cars, coverage and communications programmes should begin to see benefits from quarter 4 onwards," Digital Radio UK added.

It pointed out that digital radio's reach continued to grow, with 20.4 million people now listening every week. Year on year, digital's share of listening was up from 21.1% in the third quarter of 2009.

Smash Hits was up 15.4% year on year to an average weekly reach of 1.11 million listeners, while Absolute Radio Classic Rock piled on 69.3% year on year to 303,000. Sister station Absolute Radio 80s debuted with 564,000 listeners, while Absolute Radio 90s began with a weekly audience of 203,000. Planet Rock was up 10.6% year on year to 783,000.

Radio 1Xtra posted a record 806,000 weekly listeners, up 47.3% year on year, while Radio 7 – due to be rebranded as Radio 4 Extra – was up 18.2% over the last 12 months to 1.045 million.

6 Music, saved from the axe by the BBC Trust, was up 91.7% over the year but only 0.2% on the previous quarter, to 1.196 million. The BBC Asian Network, which is to be shut down, was up 5.7% on the previous quarter and 29.4% year on year to 462,000.

But there was a big year-on-year drop for Radio 5 Live's spinoff digital station, 5 Live Sports Extra, which was down 32.7% to 648,000.

Among other digital-only stations, NME Radio, which is reporting on a six-monthly basis for the first time, drew 257,000 listeners a week.

Digital-only stations to record year-on-year drops included Bauer Media's Heat, down 7.2% to 578,000, and sister station Q, down 8.9% to 246,000.

DAB radio attracted a 15.3% share of the audience, down from 15.8% in the previous quarter but up from 13.3% year on year.

Online listening was also marginally down quarter on quarter, from 2.9% to 2.8%, but up from 2.2% a year ago. Digital TV accounted for 4.4% of all radio listening, up from 4.1% on the previous quarter and 3.6% last year.

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